Europe and Asia need a meeting of minds

By Fraser Cameron

Date: 07/10/04

WHEN EU and Asian leaders get together in Hanoi on 8 October for the biannual ASEM meeting, the atmosphere will not reflect Vietnam's balmy climate. For months there was concern about whether the summit would actually take place because of a long- running dispute over how to deal with Myanmar, formerly Burma.

The dispute led to the cancellation of two ministerial meetings but, eventually, a face-saving formula was found whereby the military junta in Myanmar would be represented at foreign minister and not head-of-state level.

As the EU seeks to expand its influence on the global stage, it has struggled to find a balanced relationship with Asia.

Only in the past few years, with the launching of the ASEM process in 1996, has the EU sought to deal with Asia as a region. Otherwise, it has placed more emphasis on bilateral relationships with Japan, China, Korea and India.

ASEAN (the association of south-east Asian nations) has always been treated slightly differently by the EU, partly because of the hopes that it might develop closer political and economic integration along European lines.

Today the emphasis remains on deepening bilateral relations. EU-China ties, for example, have enjoyed a major boom in the past few years. But there is also a recognition that the EU and Asia have to deepen their region-to-region dialogue, not least to balance the respective dialogues between the EU and the US, and Asia and the US.

Asia is a crucial partner for the EU in many key areas. It accounts for more than half the world's population, more than a quarter of world gross domestic product (GDP) and just under a quarter of international trade.

Asia accounts for 21% of EU exports and a steadily increasing share of foreign direct investment.

The EU and Asia in a changing world

Both the EU and Asia are undergoing rapid changes. The EU has recently enlarged from 15 to 25 member states, with more queuing at the door. It remains to be seen whether this 'new Europe' will continue to take an active interest in relations with Asia.

The new member states, for example, have few ties with Asia and are more interested in their immediate neighbourhood. Asia is also moving forward rapidly, powered by China's remarkable economic growth, the economic recovery in Japan and a new found confidence in India and ASEAN.

The financial crisis of the late 1990s (to which the European response was largely passive) seems to have galvanized Asians into renewed efforts at regional cooperation on economic and trade issues, and, more slowly, on political and security issues.

There are many shared interests between the EU and Asia. On the political side, the triangle formed by the US, EU and Asia is increasingly important in world affairs. Strengthening the EU- Asia side of that triangle would also strengthen the prospects for global governance based on multilateral institutions to which both Asia and the EU are strongly committed.

Asia and Europe also share security concerns about terrorism, global health, drugs and illegal immigration.

Combating religious extremism is another growing shared interest. On the economic side, Asia is the fastest-growing market for European goods and there has been a boom in European foreign direct investment in the region.

The prospect of using the euro more in financial markets and for trade has enormous potential.

Asia is now the EU's third-most important trading partner and its fourth-most important investment destination.

However, despite considerable progress in recent years, the level of mutual awareness between Europe and Asia is still less than one would expect given the existing level of contact. Clearly there is considerable scope to promote greater inter-regional exchanges in the fields of education, culture and tourism.

A positive step was the recent opening of European Commission delegations in Singapore and Malaysia.

Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)

ASEM is an informal forum for European and Asian leaders to meet and discuss common challenges.

Meetings are held at the level of heads of government, foreign ministers and senior officials. The Hanoi meeting will be the fifth summit.

In the early years of ASEM there was a feeling on both sides that Asia-Europe relations could be developed from trade and economic issues to cover political and security issues as well. Some also thought that ASEM could be a useful counter to the US-dominated Asia Pacific Economic Forum, known as APEC. Remarkably, ASEM is the only major forum involving key countries in which the US is absent.

Despite the initial fanfare, ASEM did not become a priority in the EU. This may have been because the objectives were rather vague. ASEM thus remains an informal EU-Asia dialogue forum lacking instruments and capabilities to implement joint EU-Asia initiatives.

If the ASEM process is to remain significant, the Europeans need to show more dedication to the process.

Given the diversity of states in Asia, it is impossible to construct a monolithic EU-Asia relationship, a single policy or approach, equally valid across the whole region.

With this caveat in mind - and having regard to the changes within both regions as well as changes in international affairs - it is important that the two regions seek to deepen their relations to tackle issues of mutual concern.

Asia's rising political and economic importance is too often ignored by an EU focused on its own internal affairs, enlargement, its problematic neighbourhood and transatlantic relations. The EU's efforts to play a more active global role require closer engagement, cooperation and dialogue with the rapidly changing and increasingly dynamic countries of Asia.

At the same time, it is necessary for Asians to pay more attention to developments within the EU, to support efforts to improve educational and cultural exchanges and to overcome differences on human rights and other issues. A meeting of minds between Europe and Asia would be of benefit for the future of the world.

• Fraser Cameron, who is director of studies at the European Policy Centre, recently undertook a lecture tour in Asia.

Preview of the EU-Asia Meeting on 8 October 2004.

European External Action Service: Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) http://eeas.europa.eu/asem/index_en.htm

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